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Scott Miller: Boulder County farmers embrace innovation while caring for the land

By Scott Miller

Posted:
10/29/2017 05:55:05 PM MDT

Updated:
10/29/2017 05:55:59 PM MDT

There has been a lot of discussion recently in our community about the way local farmers care for our open space agricultural land and how research could support that important stewardship. As longtime family farmers who use a variety of growing methods (including GMO technologies) as part of our sustainable farming practices, we want to let our Boulder County neighbors know what we believe and where we stand.

First and foremost, we are deeply committed to growing food and caring for the land in a sustainable way, striving every year to improve the soil and make our farming practices better. If we didn't approach our work in this way, we would not have been able to survive and succeed as farmers for decades (or generations). We care about the health of the soil, water, air and pollinator populations on our farms — both as part of our own farming values and because it directly impacts our livelihoods and our families.

We also recognize that sustainability is often talked about as a three-legged stool, encompassing environmental, economic and social sustainability. Without all three factors in balance, true sustainability is not achieved. This is why we feel it is important to include economic viability as part of any discussions about the future of agriculture in Boulder County — both for the sake of longtime farmers who want to continue supporting their families and for the young farmers who are just starting out.

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Social sustainability can be more difficult to define, but we believe that it has to do with working in a collaborative way with our farming neighbors, respecting Boulder County's agricultural heritage, and ensuring that the community's values are honored. As longtime Boulder County residents, we know that this community values that which will best protect and preserve its treasured open space — which means truly evidence-based policies that empirically enhance things like carbon sequestration, water conservation and soil health.

Those who follow developments in local agriculture likely have noticed that the proposed sustainable agriculture research project has been tabled. It is unfortunate that there were substantive good government and fair process concerns around this large, taxpayer-funded project.

We think it's important for Boulder County residents to know that your farmers absolutely support more local agriculture research. We would be excited to collaborate on thoughtful, comprehensive research that could benefit all of the county's farmers.

We all embrace change and innovation on our own farms — which is part of why we have included advances in precision agriculture into our growing systems. Through the painstaking process of agriculture research combined with local pilot projects, we've been able to successfully incorporate GMO technologies to increase the safety of the pesticides we use to protect our crops and keep them healthy, which in turn allows us to utilize our natural resources more efficiently. Local data demonstrates that using GMO conservation tillage allows us to use one-tenth of the water and sequester six times more carbon in the soil compared to other ways of growing food.

While we cheer the idea of research, we recognize that this research must be comprehensive, methodic and fair if it is to be of any value. We care too much about the vitality of the county's agriculture land — and the taxpayers who would be footing the bill for the project — to stand by silently if it is apparent that there are significant problems with what is being proposed. While we do object to any county-funded "research" that is rooted in bias or political ideology instead of sound science, we support real research and believe it could be of significant benefit to all Boulder County farmers.

Most farmers are experts in a variety of growing techniques, treating them as tools they can utilize to best meet the needs of a particular field, in a particular time, under particular conditions. The sharply divided lines between farming methods exist on social media. Boulder County's longtime farmers work collaboratively to support each other whether they are growing with GMOs or organic methods.

We want to thank our fellow Boulder County residents for everything you do to support agriculture on our open space land and the continuation of our area's agricultural heritage.

Scott Miller is a member of Farmers Alliance for Integrated Resources in Broomfield.

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